The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the national project partner, Latvijas Banka, have successfully implemented the European Economic Area (EEA) Grants project “Improvement of employees’ knowledge in combating money laundering in Latvia.”
The project provided extensive and international knowledge exchange opportunities through in-person and online training, experience-sharing visits, and conferences.
Under the EEA Grants, the FIU and the Latvijas Banka received support for implementing the project “Improvement of knowledge of employees in combating money laundering in Latvia.” The project aimed to improve the overall institutional capacity of the institutions responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, financial intelligence, and investigations—law enforcement agencies—through in-person and online training, workshops, experience-sharing visits, and conferences. Indirectly, the project also aimed to increase public awareness of combating money laundering (AML).
During the project implementation, the FIU organized two international conferences on current topics such as virtual assets and sanctions. These conferences attracted lecturers and participants from both Latvia and abroad, with around 300 participants attending in person and approximately 1,000 participants joining online. The project co-financing provided FIU representatives the opportunity to obtain internationally recognized certification from ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists) in areas such as AML, sanctions, and crypto assets. To enhance general knowledge, FIU experts also developed their management skills, IT knowledge, communication abilities, and other competencies through online courses led by international lecturers. These efforts contribute to the FIU’s ability to operate in a more modern way and improve the country’s capacity to effectively combat money laundering.
The project partner, the Latvijas Banka, organized a training seminar on the supervision of financial crime prevention in the segment of crypto asset service providers with the support of the EEA Grants. More than 30 experts from the Latvijas Banka and the FIU were trained in this seminar led by an international lecturer in the field of crypto assets. Additionally, representatives of the Latvijas Banka strengthened and demonstrated their knowledge in combating AML by obtaining ICA (International Compliance Association) certifications. Furthermore, leveraging the opportunities provided by foreign experience-sharing visits, Latvijas Banka experts visited supervisory authorities in Ireland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and France, where they gained valuable experience in risk management, identified risk factors in various areas, and understood their impact on financial institutions’ control systems. They also established international contacts, enabling the exchange of operational information in their daily work.
The foundation of a secure financial system lies not only in educated experts but also in an informed and wise society.
With the support of the EEA Grants, representatives of the FIU and the Latvijas Banka participated in various events, such as the “LAMPA 2022” and “LAMPA 2023” conversation festivals, highlighting topics related to financial fraud, money mules, and the implementation and enforcement of sanctions.
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